Trash Polka tattoos are not necessarily new, but they are one of the latest crazes in the tattooing world. What’s interesting about Trash Polka tattoos, though, is that many people don’t even know what they’re looking at when they see one on someone’s skin. To some owners, that is an amazing thing since they have something that feels unique to them, while others wonder how this fantastic tattoo design is not as popular as some of the other modern designs out there.

So, what are these Trash Polka tattoos that are popping up all over the world? Well, two Germans named Simone Plaff and Volko Merschky came up with this style at their shop, Buena Vista Tattoo Club. They created a modern, artistic style that stood out from the pack and that would be loved by like-minded people. There’s a pretty good chance that they had no idea how quickly the Trash Polka style would blow up all over the globe.

There are many parts of the Trash Polka tattoo that makes it distinctive, but the one thing that you’ll find that most of them share is that they’re created with just black and red ink. Not every black and red tattoo is going to be a Trash Polka, those two colors together will make it easier for you to pick out a true Trash Polka tat. The majority of the tattoo is usually in black, and then the red will be used to make specific elements stand out or to give it a unique shadow effect.

Another distinctive characteristic of Trash Polka tattoos are their smudges. That’s right, you will see smears and smudges over a portion of just about every Trash Polka tattoo out there, which gives them an aged and destructive feel. You’ll notice that many of the design techniques used in Trash Polka tattoos are meant to give it a look of chaos, though not all of them are meant to give off a negative or chaotic message.